Auto discovery and auto provisioning of set top boxes

ABSTRACT

A system and method for the automatic discovery and provisioning of a video set top box within an IPTV network is provided. When first connected to a residential gateway, the set top box requests the address information of the residential gateway. The set top box then sends a request to a video operations and support server (VOSS) with the identifying information for the set top box and the residential gateway. Once the VOSS determines that the residential gateway is authorized for video service, the VOSS associates the residential gateway with the set top box. The VOSS then communicates the authorization to a middleware server, which downloads client software and encryption keys to the set top box, enabling the set top box to request and receive video content. The set top box may be reconnected to any port on the residential gateway and receive video service without being re-provisioned.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates generally to delivery of in-home videoservices, and in particular, to an improved system and method forauto-discovery and auto-provisioning of set top boxes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The in-home wiring and installation of video services for a new customeris a labor intensive process. With advent of internet protocoltelevision (IPTV), this process is made more complicated due the variouspieces of equipment that have to be configured by the installer in thecustomer's home. Because much of the intermediate equipment involved issoftware-based, the configuration of such equipment has become moredifficult, adding to the installer time and knowledge required toperform an installation. In addition, many companies are now providingcustomers with telephone, internet, and video (TV) services all in onepackage.

In order to provide the different services, and to minimize the types ofequipment required, a device known as a residential gateway (RG) isnormally installed in the customer's home. Because all of the servicesare being transmitted to the customer over the internet, the RG servesas the connection point between the various internet-provided servicesand the individual devices in the customer's home that require theservices. The individual devices normally comprise personal computers(for internet browsing), telephones, and one or more television set-topboxes for television viewing.

To complete an installation, the installer must normally configure theresidential gateway device before connecting any of the downstreamcustomer equipment. Various standardized protocols and methods are knownin the art for automatically configuring residential gateways so thatthe installer does not have to perform the operation manually. Inaddition to the gateway, however, the set top boxes which provide videoservices to televisions in the house also need to be configured. BecauseIPTV often involves “upstream” data requests from the set top box toinitiate reception of a particular program (as opposed to generalbroadcast TV), the configuration of the set top boxes can be quitecomplicated and time consuming for the installer.

Unfortunately, prior art methods for automatically provisioning gatewaysand other customer premises equipment are lacking in a number ofrespects. For example, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US2008/0117902 A1 to Vinneras describes a bridged-ethernet residentialgateway unit which uses a dedicated virtual local area network (VLAN)for each device (i.e., phones, TVs, computers) being connected to thegateway. However, the gateway unit of Vinneras operates only at theEthernet (Layer 2) level and does not perform any Internet Protocol (IPLayer 3) routing functions. Because of this, the gateway cannot performnetwork address translation (NAT) and cannot “hide” the address detailsof the set top box, telephone, or personal computer from the outsidenetwork, causing an increased security risk. The ability to remotelytroubleshoot problems with the individual devices connected to thegateway is also limited.

In addition, the installer must still manually configure the televisionset top box if any interactive IPTV features are to be enabled. This istypically done by manually inputting the appropriate system equipmentidentifiers of the set top box, such as internet protocol (IP)addresses, media access control (MAC) addresses, and globally uniqueidentifiers (GUIDs), into the system. The manual input process requiresthat the installer either key the system identifiers (each of which canbe up to thirty-two characters long) into the system before traveling tothe customer's home or call the main office of the system provider fromthe customer's home and verbally convey the set top box identifiers sothat another employee can key them in. This not only increases the timerequired to provision the set-top box, but introduces more opportunitiesfor human error and subsequent rework during the provisioning process.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, in one aspect, a method for providing video services isdisclosed, comprising: connecting a set top box to a video servicesnetwork and powering on the set top box, the video services networkincluding a residential gateway, a video operational support system anda middleware server; the residential gateway supplying an internetprotocol address to the set top box; the set top box transmitting avideo service request to a video operational support system within thevideo services network; the video operational support systemauthenticating the set top box via the internet protocol address,determining the user account associated with the set top box, anddetermining the authorized video services associated with the useraccount; the video operational support system transmitting authorizationof provisioning of the authorized video services associated with theuser account to the middleware server; and the middleware servertransmitting client software to the set top box and loading the clientsoftware on the set top box, the client software representing theauthorized video services associated with the user account.

In another aspect, a method for providing video services is disclosed,comprising: applying an application programming interface to a set topbox to enable communication between the set top box and a middlewareserver; connecting a set top box to a video services network andpowering on the set top box, the video services network including amiddleware server; the set top box transmitting a video service requestto the middleware server within the video services network; themiddleware server determining the authorized video services associatedwith the user account; and the middleware server transmitting clientsoftware to the set top box via the application programming interfaceand loading the client software on the set top box, the client softwarerepresenting the authorized video services associated with the useraccount.

According to another aspect, a video services system is disclosed,comprising: a set top box configured to be operatively coupled to atelevision; a video services network configured for providing videoservices to the television via the set top box, wherein the videoservices network includes a residential gateway operatively coupled tothe set top box, a video operational support system operable tocommunicate with the set top box, and a middleware server operable tocommunicate with the video operational support system and the set topbox; wherein the residential gateway is operable to supply an internetprotocol address to the set top box, wherein set top box is operable totransmit a video service request to a video operational support system,wherein the video operational support system is operable to authenticatethe set top box via the internet protocol address, determine the useraccount associated with the set top box, and determine the authorizedvideo services associated with the user account, wherein the videooperational support system is operable to transmit authorization ofprovisioning of the authorized video services associated with the useraccount to the middleware server, and where the middleware server isoperable to transmit client software to the set top box and loading theclient software on the set top box, the client software representing theauthorized video services associated with the user account.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an exemplary system configured toautomatically provision a set top box and provide IPTV services to acustomer according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart describing a process of automatically discoveringand provisioning a set top box according to one embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart describing a process of automatically discoveringand provisioning a set top box according to another embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of theinvention, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated inthe drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. Itwill nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of theinvention is thereby intended, and alterations and modifications in theillustrated device, and further applications of the principles of theinvention as illustrated therein are herein contemplated as wouldnormally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates.

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an exemplary system 100 configured to allowauto-provisioning of set top boxes and provide IPTV services to networksubscribers in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.As shown, a content provider 102 is communicatively connected to a videohead-end server 104. Video head-end server 104 is used to store videocontent delivered, transferred and/or uploaded to it from contentprovider 102. The video head-end server 104 is also capable ofdelivering video content over a network 106, such as the internet orpublic/private packet switched network (PSN), for example. The videohead-end server 104 delivers video content via the network 106 to amiddleware server 126, which then passes the video content to an accessnode 108. The access node 108 operates to connect subscribers to thenetwork 106, host video streams/internet group management protocol(IGMP), and provide Ethernet transport of the video content. In certainembodiments, access node 108 may be implemented as a digital subscriberline access multiplexer (DSLAM) which acts as a multiplexer forseparating out various broadcast and unicast data streams for a group ofsubscribers connected to the access node 108. A residential gateway 110is operatively connected to one of the ports 112 of the access node108to send and receive data to and from the access node 108. Theresidential gateway 110 is typically installed in the customer's homewith the access node 108 being installed in a facility outside of thecustomer's home wherein a single access node 108 feeds multiple homes.

A set top box (STB) 114 is operatively connected to a port 116 on theresidential gateway 110. The television 118 is connected to and receivesvideo signals from the STB 114. Each residential gateway 110 may beconnected to multiple customer devices including, but not limited to,telephones 120, personal computers 122, and set top boxes 114. Theindividual ports 116 on the residential gateway 110 may be configured ina variety of physical formats, including, but not limited to, Ethernet,coaxial cable (HPNA), and universal serial bus (USB), to suit the typeof device being connected and/or the type of existing in-home wiring.For example, if the residential gateway 110 is located close to the settop box 114, a standard Ethernet cable may be used to connect the settop box 114 to the residential gateway 110. However, if the set top box114 is located in a different room than the residential gateway 110, theexisting in-wall coaxial or twisted pair cabling may be used to connectthe two devices using the Home Phoneline Networking Alliance (HPNA) orMultimedia Over Coax Alliance (MOCA) protocols. HPNA and MOCA areprotocols that allow various networking protocols such as Ethernet to bedelivered over legacy wiring systems such as RG-6 coaxial or standardphone line cables.

In a preferred embodiment, residential gateway 114 is implemented as apacket routing device having the ability to perform Layer 3 networkaddress translation (NAT) when sending or receiving IP packet data to orfrom the access node 108. The residential gateway 110 is therefore ableto “hide” the media access control (MAC) addresses of the individualcustomer devices connected to the residential gateway 110 from othersystems connected to the network 106, providing increased security tothe individual customer. In certain embodiments, a virtual private LANservice (VPLS) may be used to establish the connection between the videohead-end server 104 and the residential gateway 110. For example, theVPLS service can provide a single VLAN to each residential gateway 110.Each VLAN contains all of the data services (i.e., IPTV, VoIP phone,internet) being sent to a single residential gateway 110. To preservebandwidth, a single VLAN may also be used to deliver all of thebroadcast TV channels being sent to the access node 108, with the accessnode 108 distributing the individual channels to each residentialgateway based on the individual customer access plans.

In order to administer the access of the various services to individualsubscribers, a video operational support system (VOSS) server 124 isoperatively connected to the access node 108 via network 106. The VOSSserver 124 maintains a database which keeps track of which services anindividual customer has subscribed to and may optionally containsensitive customer information. In addition, the middleware server 126is operatively connected to the access node 108 via network 106 andmaintains a separate database and other software for managing videocontent delivery including MPEG4 video, video-on-demand (VOD) andpay-per-view to the customers. In certain embodiments, the middlewareserver 126 only has access to the data needed to determine if aparticular residential gateway (based on some form of device identifieror GUID) is authorized for video service and does not have access toother sensitive customer information (such as social security numbers,addresses, etc.) on the VOSS server 124. The video head-end server 104is configured to provide requested video channels to the set top box 114via middleware server 126, access node 108 and residential gateway 110.It shall be understood that the functionality of the middleware server126 may be incorporated into the video head-end server 104 or viceversa. It shall be further understood that the middleware server 126,the video head-end server 104, and/or the VOSS server 124 may be locatedin the same physical location (i.e., a video head-end office (VHO)) orin separate locations from one another.

Each of the set top box 114, the residential gateway 110, the accessnode 108, the VOSS server 124, the video head-end server 104, and/or themiddleware server 126 may include a processing unit, memory, storage,and input/output devices. The processing units may be formed of variousprocessors which execute software, such as one or more PENTIUM orDUAL-CORE processors supplied by INTEL Corporation of 2200 MissionCollege Boulevard, Santa Clara, Calif. 95052, USA. The software,depending on the system functionality, may be configured to store and(i) manage information, such as video content, (ii) manage routing ofvideo streams, and/or (iii) manage interaction with an end-user todownload video content and images for display on a television 118.

Each memory may include one or more types of solid-state electronicmemory, magnetic memory, or optical memory, just to name a few. By wayof non-limiting example, each memory may include solid-state electronicRandom Access Memory (RAM), Sequentially Accessible Memory (SAM) (suchas the First-In, First-Out (FIFO) variety or the Last-In-First-Out(LIFO) variety), Programmable Read Only Memory (PROM), ElectronicallyProgrammable Read Only Memory (EPROM), or Electrically ErasableProgrammable Read Only Memory (EEPROM); an optical disc memory (such asa DVD or CD ROM); a magnetically encoded hard disc, floppy disc, tape,or cartridge media; or a combination of any of these memory types. Also,each memory may be volatile, nonvolatile, or a hybrid combination ofvolatile and nonvolatile varieties.

Network 106 can be in the form of a wireless or wired Local Area Network(LAN), Municipal Area Network (MAN), Wide Area Network (WAN), such asthe internet, a combination of these, or such other network arrangementas would occur to those skilled in the art. Within network 106,additional devices, such as routers, servers, or other computing devicesmay be included to achieve the transmission of data between the customerand provider equipment. In addition, the various components, such asmiddleware server 126 and video head-end server 104, may be connectedusing various sub-networks, such as a LAN, within or in addition tonetwork 106. For example, video head-end server 104 may be connecteddirectly to middleware server 126, with middleware server 126 acting asa gatekeeper and providing the actual video signals to the access node108.

When an installer arrives at a customer premises to install new service,both the residential gateway 110 and the set top box 114 must beprovisioned by the system 100. Various methods are known in the art forprovisioning residential gateways, the details of which are notimportant to the present disclosure. For example, if the residentialgateway 110 has been manufactured to be compliant with the TR-069standard provisioning protocol, the residential gateway 110 willautomatically be recognized by the access node 108. The access node 108will then forward the provisioning request with a unique identifier,such as the MAC address of the residential gateway, to the VOSS server124. The VOSS server 124 then determines whether the residential gateway110 is authorized for use.

Once the residential gateway 110 has been authorized, each of the settop boxes 114 must be discovered and provisioned by the system beforeIPTV content can be delivered to the set top boxes 114. FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an exemplary process 200 for automatically discovering andprovisioning a set top box 114 according to one embodiment of thepresent disclosure. The process 200 starts at step 202, where the userconnects the set top box 114 to the residential gateway 110. The set topbox 114 is pre-loaded with an application-layer (Layer 7 of the standardOSI model) software boot program which communicates with the residentialgateway 110 upon being connected. The set top box 114 requests an IPaddress from the residential gateway 110 at step 204. At step 206, theresidential gateway 110 supplies the set top box 114 with an IP address.In a preferred embodiment, the IP address supplied to the set top box114 by the residential gateway 110 is a private IP address. The suppliedIP address is typically generated by the residential gateway using aDynamic Host Control Protocol (DHCP) program. The residential gatewaymay also work in conjunction with additional servers and protocols tomanage and assign the IP address to the set top box 114. For example,Remote Authentication Dial In User Service (RADIUS) with Authentication,Authorization and Accounting (AAA) management, may be implemented withinthe network path to provide greater security for the data.

After being assigned its own IP address, the set top box 114 queries theresidential gateway 110 to determine the IP address and/or MAC addressof the residential gateway 110 at step 208. The set top box 114 thenbundles the identifying information for both the residential gateway 110and the set top box 114 into a provisioning request and sends therequest to the VOSS server 124 via the residential gateway 110 at step210. The identifying information for the residential gateway 110 mayinclude the IP address, the MAC address, and/or the software GUID of theresidential gateway 110. The identifying information for the set top box114 may include the IP address, the MAC address, and/or the softwareGUID of the set top box 114. In certain embodiments, the residentialgateway 110 performs network address translation on the provisioningrequest packets so that the MAC address of the set top box 114 is hiddenfrom other devices within the network 106 until the packets arereassembled and their application layer payloads (containing theresidential gateway and set top box identifiers) are decrypted and readby the VOSS server 124.

At step 212, the VOSS server 124 uses the identifying informationcontained in the provisioning request to determine whether the customeris authorized to receive video services. In one embodiment, the VOSSserver 124 looks up the IP address and/or MAC address of the residentialgateway 110 in a relational database containing a list of authorizeddevices. If the customer is authorized to receive video services, theidentifying information (IP address, MAC address and/or software GUID)of the set top box 114 is added to a list of authorized set top boxesfor the customer's account at step 214. If the customer is notauthorized to receive video services, the VOSS server 124 instructs theset top box 114 to display a message on the television 118 stating thatthe customer is not currently authorized to receive video service.

If the set top box 114 has been authorized for service (step 214), theVOSS server 124 transmits an authorization of video rights for the settop box 114 to the middleware server 126 at step 216. The middlewareserver 126 then updates its database records to show that the particularset top box 114 is authorized for video service over the particularresidential gateway 110. At step 218, the middleware server 126downloads video client software, in addition to a digital rightsmanagement (DRM) encryption key, to the set top box 114, enabling theset top box 114 to request and receive video content from the middlewareserver 126. In a preferred embodiment, the middleware server 126 acts asa gatekeeper by receiving video content from the video head-end server104 and providing the content to the set top box 114. In otherembodiments, the video head-end server may provide video content to theset top box 114, with the DRM keys and other security filters beingfirst loaded onto the set top box 114 from the middleware server 126.

The set top box 114 is now able to request video service using any ofthe ports 116 on the residential gateway 110. For example, if the userdisconnects the set top box 114 from one port 116 on the residentialgateway 110 and reconnects it to a different port 119 on the residentialgateway 110, the middleware server 126 will still recognize that thenewly connected set top box 114 is authorized for video service on theresidential gateway 110 based on the MAC address and/or GUID of the settop box 114 and will respond to video service requests from the set topbox 114. In other words, the set top box 114 does not have to bere-provisioned if it is moved from one room to another in the customer'shome. However, if the set top box 114 is taken to another customer'shome and plugged into a different residential gateway 110, themiddleware server 126 will recognize that the MAC address and/or GUID ofthe set top box 114 is not associated with the MAC address and/or GUIDof the new residential gateway 110 in the database and will thereforedeny the video content request.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of an exemplary process 300 for automaticallydiscovering and provisioning a set top box 114 according to a furtherembodiment of the present disclosure. The process 300 is similar toprocess 200, with the exception that the VOSS is not required. Rather,the set top box 114 sends the provisioning request directly to themiddleware server 126 which then communicates with the VOSS server 124to verify the customer video subscription information. This embodimentmay require that the set top box 114 contain additional software, suchas a specialized application programming interface (API) forcommunicating with the middleware 126.

The process 300 begins at step 302 with the set top box 114 beingconnected to the residential gateway. Again, the set top box requests anIP address from the residential gateway 110 at step 304 and theresidential gateway 110 supplies an IP address to the set top box 114 atstep 306. At step 308, the set top box 114 queries the residentialgateway 110 to determine the IP address of the residential gateway 110.At step 310, the set top box 114 sends a provisioning request to themiddleware server 126, with the identification information of the settop box 114 and residential gateway 110 included in the request payload.The middleware server 126 then authenticates the residential gateway 110at step 312 and communicates with the VOSS server 124 to determinewhether the customer is authorized to receive video services. If thecustomer is authorized to receive video services, the middleware server126 authorizes video service for the set top box 114 and associates theIP address and/or MAC address of the set top box with the user's accountat step 314. Lastly, at step 316, the middleware downloads aprovisioning message along with the required video client software andDRM encryption keys to the set top box 114.

Once the set top box 114 has been provisioned, it may request videocontent (i.e., a particular video channel) by sending an internet groupmanagement protocol (IGMP) join request to the middleware server 126. InIPTV, video channels have an assigned IP address that the IGMP protocolsoftware in the middleware server 126 knows and delivers to therequesting device (in this case, the set top box 114). After receivingthe IGMP join request, the middleware server 126 sends a request for aparticular video channel to the video head-end server 104. It shall beunderstood that the middleware server 126 may already be receiving theparticular video channel or may need to send a request to the videohead-end server 104 to acquire the desired video content. Once themiddleware server 126 receives the video content from the video head-endserver 104, it passes the content to the set top box 114. The DRMencryption keys used by the middleware server 126 and video head-endserver 104 ensure that unauthorized users are not able to send a rogueIGMP join request to receive video content. It shall be appreciated bythose of ordinary skill in the art that other protocols for requestingand delivering IPTV channels may also be utilized and are considered tobe within the scope of the present disclosure.

Although the principles of the present disclosure have been described inassociation with set top boxes, it should be understood that the set topbox functionality may be incorporated into a television or digital videorecorder (DVR) and use the principles of the present disclosure in thesame or similar manner.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in thedrawings and foregoing description, the same is to be considered asillustrative and not restrictive in character, it being understood thatonly the preferred embodiment has been shown and described and that allchanges and modifications that come within the spirit of the inventionare desired to be protected.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: connecting a set top box toa video services network and powering on the set top box, the videoservices network including a residential gateway, a video operationalsupport system and a middleware server; the residential gatewaysupplying an internet protocol address to the set top box; the set topbox transmitting a video service request to the video operationalsupport system within the video services network, wherein the videoservice request comprises information for the gateway and the set topbox; the video operational support system authenticating the set top boxbased on the information for the gateway and the set top box,determining the user account based on the information for the gateway,and determining the authorized video services associated with the useraccount, wherein authentication information is stored in the videooperational support system, and wherein information for the set top boxis added to a list of authorized set top boxes associated with the useraccount; the video operational support system transmitting, in responseto determining that the user account is authorized to receive videoservices, authorization of provisioning of the authorized video servicesassociated with the user account to the middleware server; and themiddleware server transmitting client software to the set top box andloading the client software on the set top box, the client softwarerepresenting the authorized video services associated with the useraccount.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising, aftertransmitting and loading the client software, the middleware serverconveying video content to the set top box.
 3. The method of claim 1,further comprising the set top box requesting an internet protocoladdress from the residential gateway.
 4. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising the video operational support system associating the internetprotocol address with the user account associated with the set top box.5. The method of claim 1, further comprising the residential gatewaysupplying a private internet protocol address to the set top box.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising the residential gateway supplyinga globally unique identifier to the set top box.
 7. The method of claim1, wherein the video operational support system occurs on at least onedevice positioned remotely from the set top box.
 8. The method of claim1, wherein the video services network is arranged to configure the settop box for operation automatically without human intervention otherthan the connecting and powering of the set top box.
 9. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the residential gateway includes a modem component anda router component.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the middlewareserver is positioned remotely from the set top box, the residentialgateway, and the video operational support system.
 11. A method,comprising: applying an application programming interface to a set topbox to enable communication between the set top box and a middlewareserver; connecting a set top box to a video services network andpowering on the set top box, the video services network including themiddleware server; the set top box transmitting a video service requestto the middleware server within the video services network, wherein thevideo service request comprises information for the gateway and the settop box; the middleware server determining the authorized video servicesassociated with the user account based on the information for thegateway and the set top box through communicating with a videooperational support system, wherein authentication information is storedin the video operational support system, and wherein information for theset top box is added to a list of authorized set top boxes associatedwith the user account; and the middleware server transmitting clientsoftware to the set top box via the application programming interfaceand loading the client software on the set top box, the client softwarerepresenting the authorized video services associated with the useraccount.
 12. The method of claim 11, further comprising a residentialgateway supplying an internet protocol address to the set top box,wherein the residential gateway is a component of the video servicesnetwork.
 13. The method of claim 12, further comprising the set top boxrequesting an internet protocol address from the residential gateway.14. The method of claim 11, further comprising the middleware serverauthenticating the set top box and authorizing video services for theset top box.
 15. The method of claim 11, further comprising, aftertransmitting and loading the client software, the middleware serverconveying video content to the set top box.
 16. The method of claim 11,wherein the video services network is arranged to configure the set topbox for operation automatically without human intervention other thanthe connecting and powering of the set top box.
 17. A video servicessystem, comprising: a set top box configured to be operatively coupledto a television; a video services network configured for providing videoservices to the television via the set top box, wherein the videoservices network includes a residential gateway operatively coupled tothe set top box, a video operational support system operable tocommunicate with the set top box, and a middleware server operable tocommunicate with the video operational support system and the set topbox; wherein the residential gateway is operable to supply an internetprotocol address to the set top box, wherein set top box is operable totransmit a video service request to a video operational support system,wherein the video service request comprises information for the gatewayand the set top box, wherein the video operational support system isoperable to authenticate the set top box based on the information forthe gateway and the set top box, determine the user account based on theinformation for the gateway, and determine the authorized video servicesassociated with the user account, wherein authentication information isstored in the video operational support system, wherein information forthe set top box is added to a list of authorized set top boxesassociated with the user account, wherein the video operational supportsystem is operable to transmit authorization of provisioning of theauthorized video services associated with the user account to themiddleware server, and wherein the middleware server is operable totransmit client software to the set top box and load the client softwareon the set top box, the client software representing the authorizedvideo services associated with the user account.
 18. The system of claim17, wherein the middleware server is operable to convey video to the settop box after the client software is transmitted and loaded.
 19. Thesystem of claim 17, wherein the video services network is arranged toconfigure the set top box for operation automatically without humanintervention other than the connecting and powering of the set top box.20. The system of claim 17, wherein the set top box is operable torequest an internet protocol address from the residential gateway.